On the Other Side
by Cass Nightingale
Summary: The year is 2070 and the events of the Second Wizarding War are history to be remembered and never repeated. James Potter, grandson of the famous Harry Potter, falls in love with a not-quite-human witch. How ready is the wizarding world to accept magical beings as complete equals on more than just a case-by-case basis?
1. Chapter 1

James Potter, grandson of the famous Harry Potter, was sitting in his tiny office in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures when a little paper plane landed on his desk. The enchanted memo read:

_12:30. Ms Venera Tao, dryad, humanoid oath._

James frowned a little. No one would arrange a meeting with a wizard at lunch time – this was just the head of the department making a point against magical beings. James' job was to ensure that such beings were treated with the respect when dealing with humans. He was sick of being bossed around into doing the exact opposite.

He looked with disgust at the memo. Humanoid was such a horrid term to use. The whole oath was very far from his liking. Some magical beings chose to work and live amongst wizards. Under recent legislation, they were entitled to all rights and benefits wizards had, provided they swore as humanoids. As humanoids, they were not allowed to do any magic that a witch or wizard was incapable of, even if their species was gifted in other ways. Many such beings were left effectively squibs and could not integrate into wizard society at all.

Limiting sentient beings in such a way felt fundamentally wrong to James, whose family was involved in ensuring equality amongst wizards for three generations. This is why he chose to work in the Ministry – he hoped to make a difference.

James sighed at the thought, and took out the quill used for oaths. He started dictating the contract. It looked as follows.

_This contract binds legally the Ministry of Magic and Ms Venera Tao._

_Ms Tao swears to never consciously use magic unavailable and / or unknown to humans._

_In return Mr James Potter swears on behalf of the Ministry that Ms Tao shall be treated as a witch or wizard for all legal purposes. She shall have the right to call herself humanoid, and refuse to give any further information of her species if she so desires. Further, she shall have all of the rights and responsibilities human wizards have, and have no other rights or responsibilities._

_If either party breaches this contract, there will be a court hearing on which an appropriate penalty and / or compensation shall be determined._

Venera Tao arrived just as James was finishing the contract. She looked very… human. In fact, she was nothing like a dryad. Ms Tao was of average height and had dark bushy hair, hazel eyes and smooth olive skin. She was extremely attractive. Dryad skin was supposed to resemble tree bark, wasn't it?

- Hello – she greeted the startled man in a high-pitched, though not unpleasant voice. – My name is Venera Tao. I was sent to your office to sign a contract. I'm guessing you've been notified?

Ms Tao had an accent James couldn't quiet pin. Definitely European, somewhere around the Mediterranean judging by her skin colour? But that could just be a species thing.

- Erm, yes. The memo said I should be expecting a dryad though. You don't exactly look like one.

She managed not to roll her eyes but James could see it was a struggle only nearly won. This woman, whatever she was, was sick of Ministry officials not doing their job properly. He really couldn't blame her.

- I'm a samodiva from Floating Island. I have the necessary documentation – Ms Tao handed the man two parchment rolls. – My species is closer to the veela than it is to dryads. It seems that the people from your department I was corresponding with so far failed to understand that, even after all the letters and forms I had to send them.

James could only guess how annoying the procedure must have been for her. He apologized on behalf of whoever refused to correctly note down her species. Then he handed her the contract.

She read it quickly and silently, and did not ask any questions. She signed the paper copy and the two proceeded with the vow. The man and the magical being stood up close to each other. They held their left arms together, each one holding the elbow of the other. James was amazed at how human the samodiva's arm felt – same temperature, same texture. The contact sent shivers down his back.

Holding his wand with his right hand, James made the standard oath incantation. A blue thread tied the two arms together, and he read the contract out loud.

- I swear – the samodiva said in her clear voice as soon as he was done.

- I swear – James repeated, and broke the spell. – Congratulations, Ms Tao.

They exchanged some pleasantries and she was just about to leave his office when he asked:

- Ms Tao, can I treat you to lunch? I'm guessing neither of us has had any, since the time arrangement was rather inconvenient.

- I'd love to. Call me Ven – she answered.

The two went to a quiet vegetarian restaurant near the Ministry. The clientele consisted of both wizards and muggles, with a thin wall of concealing magic between the two that only staff could cross.

- So what brought you to Britain? – James asked after they ordered food.

- I'm starting my Auror training next week.

- You want to be an Auror then? How come?

- Not really, or at least not for long. I want to teach Defense against the Dark Arts, and thought it would be great to know more than just the bookwork. What about you – how come you're working in the Ministry?

- Same as everyone, I wanted to make a difference. I'm interested in equality and diversity issues, mostly. It's natural given who my grandparents are, I guess.

James rarely brought up his family in conversation. He was tall, thin, and had golden hair and deep blue eyes – nothing like the famous Potter look. He enjoyed the relative anonymity when he could get it. However, he had every intention of asking the samodiva out again, and felt it would be better to get the whole famous grandfather story over with as soon as possible.

Venera Tao just gave him a long, thoughtful look and didn't say anything.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

James and Ven started having lunch together two or three times a week, since both of them were working at the Ministry. The first year of Ven's Auror training didn't include much field work – it was mostly theoretical subjects like Magical Law and some History of Magic, with the occasional Potions class thrown in. On one of their first lunches together, James found himself asking:

- So what are samodivas exactly? There's very little literature on your species here in Britain.

- That's because we're dying out – the young woman replied, without betraying any emotions. – The only settlement we have left is Floating Island.

- Oh. How come?

- We were native to Russia and Eastern Europe until some time in the late middle ages. Story goes that Merwyn the Malicious met a samodiva somewhere in Russia as she was collecting herbs. He didn't know what the herbs were and she refused to tell him. Out of spite, he jinxed her so that even the gentlest wind would make her fade away. Merwyn's magic was strong though and the jinx spread like a curse. The few left unaffected created Floating Island and took to the sky. However, our population has been rather unstable ever since.

James learnt an awful lot about samodivas in this and following conversations. Ven's species had a somewhat instinctive understanding of herbs and plants, which also made them proficient at brewing potions. Samodivas were only ever female, bred with human wizards, and only gave birth to other samodivas – unlike veelas, who could have interspecies offspring. Their biological similarity to humans allowed them to do wand magic, but only if taught from a very early age. However, this prevented them from developing the magical skills natural to their species to the fullest, and so it was rarely done. Such was the case with Venera.

A couple of months passed. Regular lunches eventually led to less regular dinners, and James and Ven started dating. They didn't keep their relationship secret in any way, but both of them were fairly quiet and enjoyed their solitude perhaps a bit too much, so people hardly noticed. When they finally did, however, the couple faced unexpected bad attitudes. Insulting jokes became an everyday reality for James, and his boss turned particularly nasty, to the point of doubting his professional judgment. He was doing his best to cope with it, but it was something entirely new to James. Ven on the other hand, didn't seem to complain. She looked like she couldn't care less, unless it interfered with her work somehow, and it never did.

Things slowly escalated and one February morning James found a letter from his grandfather on his desk. Usually one had to ask for personal mail to be delivered, and this was only allowed in the case of emergency – it was considered bad manners to deal with family business at work. Harry Potter, however, was rather talented at breaking rules. James opened the letter, wondering what he'd find inside. It turned out to be simply a dinner invitation.

_Dear James,_

_I hope you and that wonderful lady I've heard so much about are doing well. Ginny and I would love it if you could both join us for dinner tomorrow._

_Yours,_

_Harry_

James read the note several times. It wasn't the invitation itself that was peculiar, rather than the way it was delivered – it conveyed a certain… urgency, maybe? And what's with him having heard about Ven – James hadn't really told him anything.

He didn't have that much time to think about his grandfather's invitation after that morning. The next couple of days were particularly busy. The rather disorganized Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts, a man called Herbert Macmillan, had suddenly decided to submit all of his delayed paperwork regarding imported grindylows, ashwinders, billywigs and whatnot. This meant hours upon hours of filling forms, writing letters and sorting out dull documentation for James. By the time he and Ven apparated in Godric's Hollow he was too tired to be anxious about the meeting.

Ven, however, was far from calm. She was extremely tense but James knew better than to show he noticed. The last thing the young woman needed was to feel self-conscious about being nervous. He just took her hand and rang the doorbell.

The door was opened by a man whose face Ven had seen so many times in print that it was somehow a little hard to believe it should exist in real life. He was tall and thin, much like James, but other than that there was little similarity between Harry Potter and his grandson. Age and experience had given Harry a somewhat Dumbledore-like presence. Without even speaking he gave the impression of a strong, stable and extremely powerful man. The legendary scar on his forehead had turned paler with time and was hardly visible under the nearly as famous sparkling white messy hair. But most striking of all were Harry Potter's eyes – like the leaves of Emerald Forest trees on a clear morning, Ven thought.

- Good evening James. It's lovely to meet you, Ms Venera Tao – Harry Potter held his hand and Ven shook it, surprised to find that it was just like a normal, human hand.

- You too, Mr Potter. Please call me Ven.

Harry and Ginny Potter's house was small and cozy, not really befitting two of the most famous wizards alive. It shared a garden with a much larger and flashier estate. As Ven found out later, that too belonged to the Potter family and was used for larger gatherings that Harry hosted every once in a while.

Harry and especially Ginny made an effort to make Ven feel comfortable but she remained nervous and rather quiet throughout the meal. After their plates magically disappeared from the table, Harry invited the guests to the living room, where coffee was being served by a fully clothed house elf.

- Now let's get to business – Harry said, his piercing green eyes locking on Ven. – I've received a number of rather rude letters regarding you two. Needless to say, I dislike rude letters.

- We're concerned for you – Ginny added. – The wizarding world has come a long way since the fall of Tom Riddle. However, it still has a long way to go. By making your relationship public, you are endorsing a political stance of species equality that will affect your future careers and lives for years to come. We just want you to be prepared for what this means.


	3. Chapter 3

The next months were busy. Ven and James continued going out together in public. The decision came naturally to both of them. Ven said she would probably face the same amount of prejudice anyway, so she might as well. James felt it would be the right thing to do, even if his meeting with Harry had scared him a little – after all, what he wanted to do was fight for equality of sentient races.

The way their colleagues treated them became worse and worse every day. One Monday James found his little office transfigurated to a tropical forest with trees shouting obscenities at each other. What was worse was that the staff from the Improper Use of Magic office deliberately took their time to remove the spell, and their work was pointedly sloppy. But there was unexpected support as well – James received a short but warm letter from Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, the head of the Department of Mysteries. Scorpius Malfoy had lived his entire life as the son and grandson of Death Eaters and despite public prejudice managed to become one of the most influential people in the wizarding world. He was something of a hero to James.

Ven on the other hand never let any signs that something was wrong. On the rare occasion that James saw her around other Auror trainees, he noticed them giving her rather nasty looks. When he mentioned this to her, the woman disregarded it, saying that she just scored way higher on Potions than any of them and they were a bit bitter about it.

The Auror trainees started having combat lessons in early April. These were still held on Ministry grounds, in the so called White Room – a vast space with soft white walls which prevented spells from ricocheting. These lessons usually took the form of duels – first an Auror would show a spell or spell combination he or she wished to see performed, and then trainees would challenge each other. Choosing an opponent was also part of their assessment – knowing when to fight and enemy and when to let them be was an important skill for any Auror.

On their first combat lesson, the trainees were simply asked to disarm their opponent using Expelliarmus. The rule of the game was that each trainee in order had to pick someone to fight (so everyone got at least one shot), and the two started a duel in which they were allowed only to alternate between the Disarming Spell and any other that might shield them or confuse but not physically incapacitate the other person.

The first trainee to pick was a young blond woman called Arabella Greengrass. She pointed to Ven without saying a word and the samodiva obliged with a nod. The Auror present, a man called Hugo Weasley, let a few purple sparks out of his wand to mark the start of their duel.

- Expelliarmus – Arabella shouted before the last of the sparks were out. Ven shielded mechanically using a non-verbal spell. She frowned, not expecting the fighting to start quite so soon.

- Expelliarmus – she shouted back, and this time Arabella shielded. This happened a few more times until both women noticed that they wouldn't really get anywhere with just shielding. So when Ven tried to disarm her opponent for the fourth time, the blonde simply evaded the spell.

They both had a choice now, and it was so unexpected that neither of them knew what to do with it. The two women acted simultaneously. Arabella, known to be a gifted weather witch, made a thunderstorm to try and distract her opponent. Ven created a flock of birds out of thin air for the same purpose. Both failed.

And then, as soon as the effect of both spells faded, the same thought occurred to the two duelists and half the spectators.

- Interesting – said Ven out loud. Arabella just smirked. Both looked at each other in the eyes and cast their spells simultaneously.

Two identical red lights hit each other with a blinding blow. Ven felt her wand vibrate in her hand. "Oh, this is what it feels like", she thought. The Priori Incantatem took full effect. It was nothing as spectacular as the famous one between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort but all trainees stood with their mouths open. A frail vision of a thunderstorm appeared, and Arabella dropped her wand, giving a little shriek. It was only then that Weasley announced in his even tone:

- First victory today goes to Mrs Venera Tao. Now, Mr Brian Appelby, would you care to select a dueling partner?

That day Ven fought five times, more than any other trainee. She won the first three duels, and lost the latter two. Her second challenger was a man called Hugh Patil. He forced her into a Priori Incantatem and was very surprised to lose the silent fight for power. The effect of this second spell was stronger than the first one. Priori Incantatem was triggered when jinxes met mid-air. However, it was of varying strength – when the two wands producing it weren't "sisters", it could only be achieved if both spells casted were the same. Even then, similar wands resulted in stronger effects, while different ones were yielded rather unimpressive results.

The latter three opponents knew better than risk another Priori with Ven. The first of these she disarmed cleanly, though it took her a very long time to do so. Ven could feel she was getting slow. The last two she fell to, after shielding herself for longer than she thought possible. By the end of the session Ven was completely drained. As the last duel was over, Hugo Weasley spoke to the future Aurors.

- Today you've learnt a few things. Firstly, you've all mastered the Disarming Charm and know which jinxes work well combined with it, and which ones don't. Secondly, you've seen Priori Incantatem and how it can vary between spells and wands – you know that sometimes it may be to your benefit to provoke the effect, and that at other times it's best to avoid it. Finally, you've had a taste of real dueling. At the expense of Mrs Tao, you've seen that it is much easier to fight an exhausted opponent that you know well, rather than a rested one that may surprise you. Tomorrow we continue with exploring Priori Incantatem further. You're free to go.

Most of the other students left the White room not without as much as glancing towards Ven. No one dared look her in the eye. The woman was visibly shaking, her olive skin gone white. One of the Auror trainees approached her – it was Brian.

- Are you alright? – he asked, looking lamely at his feet.

- I'll be fine, I just need some fresh air – and she fainted right on the spot.


	4. Chapter 4

Ven woke up in what must have been the most uncomfortable couch in existence. Her head was pounding and she had a foul taste in her mouth. Disoriented at first, she needed to look around twice before she realized she was in James' office. When Ven finally spoke, it took a surprising amount of effort, and her coarse voice sounded like it didn't really belong to her but was coming from somewhere far away.

- How long was I out? – the witch asked.

James hadn't really seen her wake up and was so surprised that he nearly spilled his ink pot. He conjured a glass of water and rushed towards the couch.

- For an hour or so – he answered while she was downing the glass, looking at him gratefully. – It was obvious it was just exhaustion so you didn't scare us too badly. I decided to get on with my work and just let you wake up on your own.

- Cheers. Didn't realize dueling is that tiring!

- Well don't get into the habit of it – James had a serious look on his face. - What exactly happened?

- Nothing in particular. I just had to… James Potter, are you testing me? There is no way on Earth you don't know why I fainted – Ven teased.

In fact Brian Appelby had told James all about the combat session in detail when he brought the fainted witch to his office. James wasn't asking out of courtesy either – he wanted to know if she was going to sugar-coat the story. Venera had never given any indication of being bothered by Ministry officials, which made him a little suspicious. Judging by James' own experience, she probably had it a lot worse than she showed.

When he couldn't respond to her half-joke, the samodiva got angry. Her facial features changed, giving her a bird-like look.

- How dare you question me like that, you bloody… – she started, her voice growing louder.

- I just wanted to make sure you're safe – he answered calmly, shushing her. – You're not helping anyone by lying and saying everything's okay.

- Oh, give me a break! As if I need your fucking protection - I can take care of myself! – Ven was screaming at the top of her voice now. – How dare you suggest otherwise? And if I ever choose not to tell you something, you have no right whatsoever to question me like I'm some criminal.

- Venera, what we're in is called a relationship – James was also getting angry. – And I don't know about you, but I like my relationships to be based on honesty. So excuse me if I'm bothered about you lying to me. I just thought we are in this together.

- Oh, go fuck yourself – Ven gave him her most disdainful look and stormed out of his office.

Agitated, James decided not to follow her. He didn't really want to engage in a further argument. He cursed himself for snapping at her – of course she was going to be cranky after waking up, what was he thinking? He tried to get back to his work but after trying fruitlessly for the better part of an hour decided to call it a day.

It took Ven mere seconds to look like her usual composed self after she left James' office. Thank Merlin, she thought, that no one was in the corridor to see her bird-like features fade away. Samodivas, like the veela, transformed when they were angry. The witch wasn't able to perform a full transformation like the rest of her species because of her early childhood training but it still showed occasionally.

Her head still pounding, Ven forced a smile on her face, went to the elevator and let it take her to the Atrium. There she disapparated and a moment later found herself in her bedroom.

Ven occupied a small and shabby flat in muggle London. Her species lived out in the open and she didn't really understand the idea of a comfortable and cozy home. The way she saw it, one's premises needed a good bed, a bathroom (for the lack of a clean forest lake), a kitchen, and big enough bookshelves. Everything else was inconsequential. Her apartment mirrored her views accordingly. The things she used most were enchanted (without the knowledge of her landlord) to be convenient. However, the rest of the place was left as it was – cheap furniture falling apart, and no decorations whatsoever.

Ven threw herself on the bed and started crying loudly. She knew she wasn't crying about anything in particular. She just needed to let go of the emotions that had slowly built up inside her over the day. After a while the samodiva just lay there, her head completely void of thoughts. And then she finally fell asleep.

Ven woke up some time in the night. Everything was quiet and she felt at piece. Sitting up, the witch caught sight of a mirror on her bedside table. She picked it up and as soon as she locked her eyes on her image, it spoke.

- What happened today?

- Got my ass kicked in combat training. Fainted and Brian took me to James. Had a fight with James.

- Are you okay with what happened during combat training?

- I held my own, I'm quite proud of myself for that. It was inevitable that they should gang up on me. It's unpleasant but it's also great practice – the image rolled her eyes at the last words.

- Fair enough. What about Brian?

- Yes, he was nice. I should figure out a way to thank him properly.

- And the fight with James?

- I was tired and frustrated. I should've been calmer.

- Out of the two, who was right?

- He had a point – honesty is important in a relationship. This is exactly why he should have approached me openly though.

- Would you have been honest with him if he had?

- That's not the point, my flaws shouldn't excuse him. What he did was wrong – I was overly sensitive, yes, but it was still wrong.

- Are you going to be honest with him in the future?

- I'm hardly dishonest as it is! Nothing has happened to me that I couldn't handle on my own.

- There are very few things that you can't handle on your own, Venera Tao. I don't think this is the point.

Not caring to reply to her image, Ven put the mirror down and went to the kitchen to grab something to eat. On the kitchen table she found a note in the familiar careful handwriting of James.

_I'm sorry. Please come and stay at mine tonight. J._

Ven looked at the clock on the wall. It was one in the morning. She smiled to herself, shook her head and disapparated.


	5. Chapter 5

The following two weeks passed uneventfully. Ven became a constant target at combat classes and was getting better and better at holding her own. Brian Appleby became a bit of a secondary target after everyone found out he helped the samodiva. Unlike Ven, who mostly won her duels by cunning and swiftness, Brian proved to be a powerful duellist in every sense of the word – his magic was strong, he was quick of mind and his defences often seemed virtually impenetrable.

The Aurors responsible for their training sometimes set out exercises where Brian and Ven couldn't be targeted too much, but those were rare occasions. More often than not, their mentors just turned a blind eye to what was happening.

At the end of April a surprise was awaiting the trainees. Instead of working in the White Room as usual they were visiting the Department of Mysteries to try some of the enchanted weapons collected there.

The department occupied an entire floor of the Ministry. Only about half of it, however, was off bounds. The rest was something of a museum of solved mysteries – it contained a vast collection of magical scrolls, famous memories that presented riddles, and an impressive amount of weapons and other dangerous relics.

The Aurors in training were greeted by the Head of Department, a tall blond man with sharp grey eyes and a pointed face. He looked so cold that the trainees all nearly jumped on the spot when he started speaking in a soft, low, and maybe even cheerful voice.

- Hello everyone. My name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy and I'm the Head of Department here. As you probably already know, the Department hosts a vast collection of magical artefacts that once presented a mystery but are now deemed appropriate for a certain audience. We often work with the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office in this endeavour.

Scorpius stopped talking and waited for the others to quiet down. His audience was getting restless and seemed to be more interested in their surroundings rather than in what the man was saying. Few had the chance to visit Level Nine, and Scorpius was anticipating such a response. He coughed, bringing attention back to himself, and continued.

- Now, provided you become actual Aurors you will most often face other wizards and you will both be armed with a wand. However, this is not always the case. As I'm sure Miss Tao can confirm, some non-human sentient species have their weapons of choice. Moreover, you might find yourself in a situation where your wand is unavailable.

Ven turned a rather peculiar colour as she flushed under everyone's heavy gazes. Malfoy was just about to continue his little lecture when he realized that attention was not going back to him.

- Miss Tao, maybe you'd like to enlighten us further on the matter? – he suggested.

- Erm – she mumbled. It took her several long and painful seconds to compose herself. – Samodivas and the veela are known as skilful archers. We are a peaceful species now but our young are still in training. Dwarfs prefer axes, sand spirits use daggers…

- Thank you, Miss Tao, this is more than enough – Malfoy interrupted her. It came out a bit rude without his intention.

- Now, we are not going to let you attack each other with magical weapons. The one time we tried that, the whole floor needed renovating. Instead, we are going to take you to the Room of Illusions.

The Room of Illusions was about the size of the White Room, but had a spectators' bench that was magically protected from any sort of damage. The only other thing in the nearly empty room was a large grey arena. Once everyone was settled on the bench Scorpius Malfoy spoke again:

- The purpose of this exercise is not to teach you any combat skills. It is to get you familiar with the most basic weapon types. Each one of you will be given a weapon, will be instructed how to use it, and then will fight a number of armed illusions.

An Unspeakable arrived promptly and handed each of them a piece of parchment with the name and description of a weapon. Ven's note simply read "_veela bow; arrows with different enchantments – green for poison, black for paralysis, red for magical targeting, yellow for speed_". The witch smiled a little. Someone in the Department was on her side. A veela bow was not quite what she was used to from back home but couldn't really be very far away from it either. Even the colour coding of the arrows was the same, though her choice was limited to the basics.

Instead of the usual alphabetical order, Malfoy started calling names seemingly at random. The first weapon to appear on the arena was a set of poisonous sand daggers. They were some truly exquisite weapons, Ven thought. Their black blades caused severe sweating and delirium when the victim was merely scratched, and instant death when the injury was deeper. At the hands of one of the less talented trainees, though, none of that looked nearly as impressive as it would in a real battle.

A short sword, a set of throwing axes, javelins, a beautiful katana, a battle axe and a set of silver shurikens later, Ven realized that it was only her and Brian left. The Head of Department was getting more and more gleeful as time went by. He seemed to be enjoying the trainees' failure with the weapons an awful lot.

The witch noticed that a lot of the trainees were rather inadequate at dealing with the weapons they were given. She knew that she would do well with the bow. She didn't have the astonishing talent her archery teacher once had, but she definitely had a steady arm and a good eye.

Before Ven knew it, it was Brian Appleby's turn. The young man was looking rather pale. He was given a long two-handed sword that once belonged to a XV-century warrior who was famously never defeated in battle. As soon as the wizard started wielding the weapon against a hoard of ghostly creatures that appeared in front of him, everyone found out exactly why. Like the javelins, it too had a speed enchantment that made Brian look like a little hurricane of blades and death. The ghostly creatures soon fell to the ground. All of the trainee's jaws dropped – they were beginning to think that the point of the lesson was to humiliate them with their inability to use what they considered to be muggle toys. Scorpius Malfoy applauded.

- Now, Miss Ven, if you would please care to step in our little arena. We would love to see a range of arrows being used, if at all possible – he said once the grinning Brian was back on the bench.

- Sure – the witch answered, hoping her voice didn't give away her sudden anxiety.

Ven was asked to stand at one end of the arena, which was about a hundred feet long. Bow in her hand, she tapped her foot to indicate she was ready for the task. And then she blinked and almost lost her balance.

About forty ghostly figures appeared at the other end of the arena. They looked confused for a moment but then almost simultaneously their eyes locked on Ven and they started moving in her direction. The witch gave up on any thoughts of picking her arrows. Everything went very quiet for her and for what seemed an eternity nothing but the mechanical shooting existed. Grab an arrow, stretch the bow, aim, shoot, repeat. It wasn't even separate steps, everything blurred into a single smooth motion, a dance almost. Ven didn't really bother to check if her arrows hit their targets – she knew she would be done for once her enemies reached her and all she aimed for was speed.

And then the witch ran out of arrows. There were seven more of the ghostly figures left and they were only several steps away from her now. Now that they were closer, the she could see they had no armour but were well armed. She wouldn't stand a chance in a melee combat.

Ven ran along the edge of the arena, and they darted after her. She grabbed a few arrows along the way but one of them was broken. Once she had a little more distance between her and her chasers, the witch shot. Three more down, four to go. Soon after another three fell, leaving it a one on one combat. Ven already had a single green arrow in her hand and was running away from the last ghost warrior, when she stumbled and fell heavily. Rolling quickly in her back, she fired as the figure jumped over her.

It was only then that she saw what the green arrow did. A vile looking wound appeared in the warrior's chest and as he struggled to breathe, it opened up, eating through the flesh as if it was melting it. Then the arena vanished, and with it the ghostly apparitions were gone. Only the arrows were left rolling on the floor.

Ven slowly rose. She could tell everyone was staring at her the same way they stared at Brian but she didn't know how to react. Slowly coming back to her senses after the fight, the witch returned to the bench. Malfoy applauded once again, and Brian joined him. Everyone else was too afraid of her to move.

- That was some impressive shooting, Miss Tao. – Malfoy said, ignoring the uneasiness of the trainees. – Now everyone pack up and go. I believe you've all seen enough enchanted weapons for a lifetime. I do hope they remain a thing of our collection and you never need to face them in real life.

Ven and Brian were left at the end of the queue. Both were feeling rather victorious after the lesson. Right before leaving, the man turned to the Head of Department.

- Thank you, sir – he said and Malfoy only nodded.

Ven frowned a little. She wasn't planning on saying anything but she guessed she couldn't just leave either.

- I appreciate it – she said thoughtfully. – Though it really wasn't necessary.

Scorpius Malfoy just smiled, not at all bothered with Venera Tao's ungratefulness.


End file.
